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S tudio Fuksas primarily works on major international projects. What does the
office structure look like?
For the majority, the group of colleagues consists of young, international architects.
These bring along a lot of know-how from various professions and different cultures.
Almost all the colleagues have already gained previous experience in other architectural
offices of a comparable size. The team is constantly changing due to people leaving and
new ones arriving almost every week. The working environment is very heterogeneous
and it definitely is a hotbed for creative processes. The continual discourse with col-
leagues encourages everyone to question any preconceptions one might have. What one
person may lack in experience is easily compensated by the willingness to help of expe-
rienced colleagues. Unfortunately, the personnel at Studio Fuksas is somewhat seen as
interchangeable. Job security as well as the wages is comparably low. Nevertheless,
I gained a lot of experience and was able to further develop on a personal basis.

„Studio Fuksas is an optimal office for

gaining practical experience
as a young student of architecture.“

r Which were the tasks in which you were involved as an intern?
During the first two months, I had the chance to work in the sector of Business
Development. Later on, I participated in various projects – from basic design tasks to
implementation planning and to construction documentation. Studio Fuksas gave me
the opportunity to work independently. In meetings and telephone conferences, I was
able to directly make contact with clients. For one meeting, I was even sent abroad to
discuss ongoing projects with clients. In addition, as the only German-speaking
em ployee in the office at the time, I worked on projects in Germany. I was allowed to
develop my own solutions for current retail projects such as the MyZeil in Frankfurt or
the Europark in Salzburg. The office is constantly looking for qualified German-speaking
architects in order to handle comparable major projects in Germany in future as well.

r Have your expectations regarding the internship thus been met?
Yes, my expectations regarding the internship have completely been met. Even though G EN ERA L CO N T RA CTI N G
I have to freely admit that the working life in Italy at first appears to be somewhat
unusual and chaotic, I was able to quickly get accustomed to it and learnt a lot. I gained
important experience and established new contacts, learnt to appreciate a culture new
to me and made numerous friends. Thanks to the direct contact with the boss and the Wir stehen Architekten zur Seite.
colleagues, I was able to get to know the procedures in an international office and I was
also able to collect many tips and tricks regarding CAD programmes. Studio Fuksas is
an optimal office for gaining practical experience as a young student of architecture. Von der Immobilienbewertung über
die Koordination bis zur
r And which are the skills one should have to work at Studio Fuksas? termingerechten Eröffnung –
Already as a student one should have a sound knowledge of architecture. The require-
ments as to knowing programmes are different from department to department. Yet it umdasch realisiert Ihr ganzheitliches Bauprojekt.
is an advantage to already have basic knowledge in the programmes AutoCAD,
Rhinoceros 3D and Adobe Creative Cloud. Being familiar with MS Word and MS Excel
is also an advantage in departments such as Business Development. However, not being
familiar with these programmes is not an exclusion criterion. I personally started the
internship without any skills in AutoCAD and, already after a short time, was able to
work on all the projects without any problems. The working language in the office is
English. Prior know ledge of Italian and French is also of use.

r How do you assess the six-month duration of the internship?
A period of six months is optimal for gaining practical experience. I think a shorter
period is inadequate since it takes a while until you have become part of the everyday
office routine. Studio Fuksas is a good place for an internship because you are quickly
allowed to assume a lot of responsibility there. As an intern, you do not play a special
role but are working at eye-level with the architects and the colleagues in the team. You
should, however, make it clear at Fuksas right from the start what kind of work you
would like to take on during the internship if you can specify it. In this way, you can
make sure you will be working in the desired department.
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